The present invention relates to a textile winding machine having an apparatus for removing debris on and around a traveling yarn and, more specifically, an apparatus for applying a stream of air transversely to the direction of travel of a traveling yarn as the yarn travels from a supply package to another yarn package to effect removal of debris borne along with the traveling yarn.
U.S. Pat, No. 4,917,326 to Kojima et al discloses a cover for covering the top portion of supply package positioned at the winding station of a textile winding machine for removing fluff generated during the winding of yarn from the supply package to another yarn package. A suction pipe is connected to the cover for suctioning away fluff (e.g., fine debris particles) which are generated during the unwinding of the yarn from the supply package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,138 to Ichiba discloses an apparatus for preventing the scatter of fly in a winder. An upper member having an open bottom end is disposed around a yarn tensioning device above the supply package being unwound. A lower member at least partially surrounds the supply package and has a top open end open towards the bottom open end of the upper cover member. Suction is applied to the interior of the upper cover member to create a fluid flow through the interior of both the upper and lower cover members to thereby remove fly generated within the two cover members.
However, neither the fluff scattering preventing apparatus disclosed in Kojimi et al nor the fly scatter preventing apparatus disclosed in Ichiba satisfactorily address the problems associated with the removal of debris which is typically carried along by a traveling yarn such as, for example, a yarn being wound from a supply package during winding of the yarn onto another yarn package on a textile winding machine The velocity of the traveling yarn tends to create a column of air surrounding the circumference of the traveling yarn whose direction of flow is the same as the direction of travel of the traveling yarn. This column air entrains debris, and in particular, entrains fine particle debris, and transports this debris therealong as the column of air flows along the circumference of the traveling yarn.
So long as the traveling yarn travels in an essentially linear travel path, the column of air flowing therewith remains undisturbed and the debris entrained in the column of air is transported thereby until the traveling yarn reaches other locations along the textile winding machine at which it changes its direction of travel or comes into engagement with a compound of the textile winding machine. In this manner, components as yarn tensioning devices, yarn break, and other components which are typically disposed between a supply package and the feed yarn package for handling of the yarn, tend to accumulate debris which has been dislodged from the traveling yarn. The accumulated debris on these components detrimentally impacts their operational deficiency.
Moreover, if the traveling yarn has not been cleaned of such accompanying debris before traveling into engagement with or past such components, the resulting turbulence caused by the engagement of the traveling yarn with these components tends to cause a relatively wide dispersal of the debris entrained with the column of air, thus further complicating the removal of such debris from the components Accordingly, the need exists for dislodging debris traveling with a yarn as it travels between two locations such as, for example, from a supply package to another yarn package.